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Development of a Hepatitis B Virus Reporter System to Monitor the Early Stages of the Replication Cycle
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Development of a Hepatitis B Virus Reporter System to Monitor the Early Stages of the Replication Cycle

Published on: February 1, 2017

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Long-Term Follow-up and Quantitative Hepatitis B Surface Antigen Monitoring in North American Chronic HBV Carriers

Conar R O'Neil1, Stephen E Congly2, M Sarah Rose3

  • 1Division of Infectious Disease, Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada; Department of Internal Medicine, University of Calgary Cumming School of Medicine, Calgary, Alberta, Canada.

Annals of Hepatology
|May 18, 2019
PubMed

Insights

Quantitative hepatitis B surface antigen (qHBsAg) levels correlate with chronic hepatitis B (CHB) phases. In patients on long-term nucleoside analogue (NA) therapy, qHBsAg levels stabilize, with some achieving low levels potentially allowing treatment discontinuation.

Area of Science:

  • Hepatology
  • Virology
  • Immunology

Background:

  • Quantitative hepatitis B surface antigen (qHBsAg) is a potential biomarker for chronic hepatitis B (CHB) management.
  • Understanding qHBsAg dynamics across disease phases and treatment is crucial for optimizing patient care.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To evaluate qHBsAg levels in relation to CHB disease phases in untreated patients.
  • To assess qHBsAg level changes over time in patients receiving nucleoside analogue (NA) therapy.

Main Methods:

  • Retrospective cohort study of 545 CHB carriers.
  • Analysis of qHBsAg levels stratified by CHB disease phase (immune tolerant, immune clearance, inactive, HBeAg-negative).
  • Longitudinal qHBsAg assessment in patients treated with entecavir, tenofovir, or lamivudine.

Main Results:

  • Significant differences in median qHBsAg levels were observed across untreated CHB phases (p < 0.001).
  • In the NA-treated cohort, qHBsAg levels remained stable over time.
  • Sustained low qHBsAg (< 2 log10 IU/mL) was observed in 19% of patients on long-term NA therapy.

Conclusions:

  • qHBsAg levels are associated with CHB disease phase and treatment status.
  • Stable qHBsAg titers in long-term NA-treated patients suggest a potential marker for treatment discontinuation assessment.
  • A subset of treated patients with low qHBsAg may be candidates for stopping NA therapy without increased risk of hepatitis flares.
Abstract

Keywords:
CanadaChronic Hepatitis BDiagnostic TestDisease PhaseNatural HistoryNucleoside Analogues

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